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This Week's Episode

Pan Grilled Chicken Breasts With Orange Onion Shards

An example of deglazing with possibilities limited only by our imaginations and mood. Lightly browning orange zest along with chicken and onion slices lends an intriguing lilt to the dish. Use it as a starting point for experimentation -- stir a few teaspoons of minced fresh ginger into the pan with the zest, or saute shallots and fresh sage before adding the wine. In autumn, cider could stand in for the wine, with a little dark mustard finishing the sauce.

Make a sheer film of oil in bottom of a 12-inch saute pan (not non-stick) and heat over medium high. Add chicken in a single layer and scatter with onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook about 30 seconds per side to sear. Turn heat to medium low. Using a zester, shred the colored rind (zest) of the orange over the pan. Cook chicken 4 minutes per side, or until firm when pressed with a finger. Turn onion pieces with chicken.

Remove to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour away all but a tablespoon or so of fat from pan. Set over medium high. Add any desired flavorings, sauteeing for just a minute or so. Add wine. Using a wooden spatula, simmer wine as you scrape up the brown glaze in the pan. When wine is all but gone, add stock and simmer, stirring until deeply flavored. Taste for seasoning.

Depending upon the intensity of your glaze, you might want a little more stock. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper has won numerous awards as host of The Splendid Table, including two James Beard Foundation Awards (1998, 2008) for Best National Radio Show on Food, five Clarion Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014) from Women in Communication, and a Gracie Allen Award in 2000 for Best Syndicated Talk Show.

In 1966 David Lett and his wife, Diana, spent their honeymoon planting the first commercial pinot noir grapes in Oregon. "I wanted to make the great American pinot noir," Lett says. That was the start of The Eyrie Vineyards, which went on to attain cult status.